May Be Foodless Friday: Baked Potatoes

Welcome to May Be Foodless Friday. Today we'll be discussing Baked Potatoes, which are easy, but time consuming - after all you have to let them cook in the oven for about an hour because we all know that microwaved potatoes are not that great, or do we? Time to rethink the microwaved potato.

For Christmas 2 years ago, my mother-in-law gave us a baked potato bag for the microwave. This wonderful home-made potato bag has made baked potatoes one of our 'quick' meals.

So how to get one of these wonderful potato bags? You can buy one (search for baked potato bag or sack), or make it yourself (or ask someone you know who loves to sew to make one for you). I have made a few and find that they are quite easy once you get going. When we get into a larger place and I get my sewing desk and machine back I will post pictures of how to make them. Until then if you have questions please feel free to contact me, there are also many places to find instructions online, each varies - just search for baked potato bag or baked potato sack.

How to make a Baked Potato Bag
Note: I am a beginner with a sewing machine so these won't be the most technical directions. I purposefully do not give dimensions as you can make them as large or small as you want to. I would hesitate to make it to too large (more than four potatoes at a time) though because I'm not sure how the potatoes would cook.

What you need

Sewing Machine
100% cotton Thread
batting*
100% Cotton fabric

*A couple of notes on batting, it would be best to get 100% cotton batting, however it is not necessary.
Also when buying the batting, if you buy low or medium loft you will need twice the amount. You will need to stitch the batting together to make it thicker.

Directions:
You will need one piece of cotton fabric that is twice as tall as the piece of batting. Place the batting on the wrong side of the cotton fabric, line up the edges on three sides. Fold down the top of the fabric to cover the batting (you should only see the design on the fabric now.) Sew the three edges . Fold in half so the sewn edges are together. Sew the two edges that have been sewn together and surge(I just use the zig-zag stitch). Turn bag so stitching is on the inside and you have a potato bag.

View of inside the bags. FYI I made green one and my mother-in-law made the red one.

I've seen some where they actually quilt the whole thing, which may not be a bad idea to keep the batting in place, because after quite a few uses it starts to slip down in the bag. Another way to counter this would be to use two pieces of fabric and stitch the batting to all the edges.

Another thing I have seen is having a lip to close the potatoes in the bag. I don't think it is necessary, as our potatoes cook just fine without it, but it does look nicer.

To use:
Wash & Dry Potato, DO NOT PRICK (you can wrap the potato in a paper towel if desired),
Place in Bag, Microwave using your microwave’s potato setting (if you don’t have one, start with 4 minutes). You want to squeeze the potato while still in the sack, if it is soft then it is done. Some potatoes may need additional time. If more time is needed continue using 1 minute increments until done.
Tip: to get your potatoes nice and fluffy, take your potato when it is still nice and hot. Bang* it on a clean surface (counter, cutting board, etc) a couple of times, it will split open after the second or third time. Place on a plate, open split more and fluff with a fork.

Caution: You may need to use a hot-pad to hold the hot potato while banging it.

*Seriously Bang it on the counter! Take out your frustrations on the potato, it works great! Doesn't that potato look nice and fluffy?

Additional Uses: Day old rolls, Acorn Squash, Carrots, String Beans
Wrap the following in a paper towel
Sweet Corn; Remove Husk
Sweet Potatoes

100% Cotton – Machine Washable – Cold
****** Microwaves ovens may vary do not leave bags unattended when using – you should not leave the potatoes in the bag as they will steam and get it wet. Not recommended for use in microwaves without a working turntable.